Best Friend, Boyfriend?
by RipleyWriter93
Summary: Nate and Caitlyn have been best friends for years. Will one ballad change that?
1. Chapter 1

I just thought it would be fun to write up something like this. Hope you guys like it. It will only have two chapters but I think they'll be good. I don't own anything (: Review Please

"Hey these'll be great in the studio!" Caitlyn Geller exclaimed excitedly to her best friend, Nate Ryan, member of Connect 3. She was reading four pretty good songs he had written while on the road that year. As Nate's best friend, Caitlyn had her own room at Connect 3's house and was staying there for a few months to spend time with the guys and learn even more about the music business.

"And how is it even possible to record them?" Nate ground his teeth, annoyed. "When I can barely drag the guys in here kicking and screaming?" Caitlyn shrugged, and propped her feet up on the coffee table. Nate pushed her feet off and organized the papers she had been using for a foot rest.

"Why not let them sing with you guys? Rewrite one of these lovely ballads so all of you can sing it. The media would eat up lovey dovey stuff between the couples like that." Caitlyn informed her best friend. Nate looked up, his eyes gleaming at the prospect.

"It _would_ be fantastic PR..." He was mumbling to himself, running his hand through his curly hair. "Duets between Shane and Mitchie. Tess can sing while Jason plays. It's perfect!" he exclaimed. Caitlyn looked at him quizzically. "What?? This is a great idea!" Nate had now stood up and was pacing furiously, looking at the doubt on Caitlyn's face. "What? What is the problem!"

"Who are you gonna sing with? I know it would be great for Shane and Jason, but all the magazines will hold the same head line: Nate Ryan Still Remains Helplessly Heartbroken And Alone in Hit Song." She said in her dramatic news anchor voice, making a line with her hands. Nate stopped in his tracks.

"I don't need a girl. It's fine the way it is." Nate slowly talked himself into it and the chestnut haired girl snorted. "Caitlyn I don't have a girlfriend! I can't sing with one if I don't have one!" He exclaimed. Caitlyn put up her hands in exasperation. "It's fine."

But clearly even Nate didn't believe what he was saying as he held auditions for a girl to sing with on the song he had (re)written. Girls were flocking the building where the audition was being held. Mitchie, Tess, Jason, Nate, Shane, and Caitlyn were all seated at a long table as each girl was escorted in. They all had been given a song to learn beforehand and were resquested to sing a few bars. Some were decent, and were requested to come back and sing again.

And then there were like girls like Fiona. The gorgeous young woman walked in, causing every guys' jaw to hit the floor, Mitchie, Tess, and Caitlyn elbowing them agitatedly. Fiona smiled dazzlingly and continued to screech the song, bellowing out every note she had practiced. The six judges grabbed their ears and begged for her to be taken from the room. Fiona screamed vociferously how much she loved the boys, and Caitlyn hid under the table, refusing to come out until she was gone.

Shane laughed as Fiona's arms flew out and her hands clawed at the door to try and stay in the room and he leaned over to kiss Mitchie's cheek sweetly.

Tess turned to her boyfriend Jason and whined that this girl must be taken away immediately. "Yeah. Come on guys, get her out of here." He gestured to the tough looking security guards, and wrapped his arm snugly around his girlfriend.

"Caitlyn! Caitlyn! Come on!" Nate pulled his friend out from under the table, their friends laughing along. Hours later, Nate sat in the lounge of Connect 3's home with Caitlyn.

"Okay we have two great choices. Jessica Bernstein." Nick held the picture of the bottle blonde.

"She has a crooked tooth and that would be a huge emphasis during all the smiling shots you two would have to do." Caitlyn said without looking up from her lap top. Nate scrutinized the picture. "Right in the front, tilt your head to the side." He did so and his jaw dropped.

"Oh my god! You're right!" He placed her picture at the bottom of the pile. "Ooh. Liana Gold. I don't see much wrong with her." He smirked and Caitlyn rolled her eyes, reaching for the CD that was with the picture. She popped it into her lap top and played it. She jabbed her finger at the sound file as it played.

"Listen to her voice. It's squeaky. It'll clash with the combination of Connect 3 and the girl's voices." Nate sighed, she was right.

"Maybe I'll just sing alone." Nate sighed. Caitlyn shrugged.

"Maybe that's best." She hugged him to try and cheer him up.

"Yeah but if it bombs I blame you!" Nate grinned brightly, soqmething rare for Nate Ryan to do. Caitlyn laughed and nodded. After a few daunting weeks of Nate looking for the perfect girl to sing, Connect 3 was joined by Mitchie and Tess in the studio. Caitlyn sat at the sound board, helping them record. But as the group sang, there was something off.

"Nate?" Caitlyn pressed on the intercom. He looked up, one hand still on the headphone. "Can you come here?" He nodded and walked out of the studio to where she sat. "It sounds off. It was written for six people." She pointed out. Nate groaned.

"You think I don't know that?" He asked her angrily, leaning back against the board.

"No I know. I was just saying. Maybe if Mitchie takes the second chorus..." But Caitlyn's voice was cut off by Mitchie chipping in.

"Hey Caitlyn! Why don't you get in here? You do have an amazing voice!" She exclaimed, grinning toothily. Caitlyn blushed beneath her curls. "Come on! We've got the extra mic!" Caitlyn cleared her throat nervously and Nate reached forward, brushing her hand with his.

"Give it a shot." He smiled encouragingly at his best girl friend. "I mean you know every verse." He pushed her. Caitlyn looked helpelessly at his pleading face and then at everyone else's pleading voice.

"Okay. Sure." She grinned and followed him into the recording studio. She put on a pair of head phones and stood between Shane and Nate. As they began to sing, Caitlyn's voice meshed perfectly with everyone elses.

Within months, the single had actually gone platinum. The group was in awe. The song was all they heard on the radio when the group went out and frankly, it was getting annoying. But it was when Heart to Heart was nominated for Ballad of the Year at the American Music Awards, that it hit them all how big this song was.


	2. Chapter 2

"I've never gone to an award show before!" Caitlyn exclaimed as she Mitchie, and Tess, walked along 5th Avenue, looking for dresses.

"Doesn't matter." Tess shrugged. "You just need a drop dead gorgeous dress." She laughed. It was eery for Mitchie. Seeing these two ex enemies actually holding a civil conversation. "Like from here..." Tess led them into some chic boutique.

"Easy for you to say. The last time I wore a dress was my kindergarten graduation." Caitlyn groaned as Tess dropped a boat load of dresses into her arms. Mitchie casually browsed through the selection, not discovering anything she was really crazy about.

But finally, all three girls left their shopping trip with dresses to wear to the Awards Event coming up the following weekend. As soon as they returned to the snazzy Connect 3 home, Mitchie and Tess went their separate ways, but Caitlyn was seeking out Nate. She needed to be rid of the overwhelming girlishness. Fast. "Nate! Nate!" She yelled frantically.

She pounded on his door but he didn't answer, he was drumming. "I'M COMING IN!!!" She yelled and burst inside. The room had a chocolate colored carpet and red walls, his bed pushed against one side of the far wall, his drum set opposite it. He had a set of dressers and a large walk-in closet that he and Caitlyn had once spent hours arranging, both were a little OCD when it came to closets.

Nate was just sitting in shorts at his drum set, his eyes nearly closed as he played. "We're playing basketball. Come on." She tossed him his sneakers.

"Have fun shopping?" He teased her, leaning over to tie one shoe. Nate knew full well how much she detested the pastime so many women of all ages loved. Caitlyn threw a pillow at him and it hit the cymbal loudly. "Missed!" He stuck his tongue out. After a moment or two, the cymbal spun on it's stand and fell on his foot. He jumped up and held his toe like his life depended on it, scowling at his female friend. Caitlyn stuck her tongue out at him and went to go change into shorts and a tank top.

She went to her room and just observed for a minute. She had a state of the art sound system that she produced a lot of music on. A comfortable queen sized bed, and a cherry wood vanity and dresser on the same wall. Her closet could only be seen if you knew where to look. She wanted something sort of secretive in her room, so the closet was built to match the wall perfectly, only she, Nate, and Mitchie knew where it was.

She loved it. Her orange walls were a warm tone so she always felt comfortable in her room at the house she spent so much time at. It had once been a guest room, but when Caitlyn's parents left for their year long cruise, as a seventeen year old young woman, she alternated between her aunt's home and Connect 3's.

She rummaged through her drawers and pulled out a pair of basketball shorts and a white tank top with neon blue stripes. She laced up her sneakers and grabbed two water bottles for her and Nate. "First to thirty wins?" Nate asked the age old score that decided who would win the game.

Both got really into it and started to sweat after just minutes. Caitlyn stood at the half court line and dribbled the basketball tiredly. "Alright Catie, let's see you sink a three pointer." Nate challenged her toughly. She took the shot and swish! in went the ball.

"Oh! And the crowd goes wild for the winner of this game!! Caitlyn Geller!!!" Caitlyn cheered. Nate laughed and picked her up, swinging her in a victory dance. The two laughed and sat down on the grass to drink from their water bottles. "So, what's this award thing gonna be like?" Caitlyn asked her best friend.

Nate sat back on his hands. "Long. More boring than most people think. If we win then we usually go to an after party, which is cool, but if we don't, Shane's too pissed off to do anything. We sit a lot, and listen, smile or look nonchalant because the cameras can focus on you without you realizing." He ticked off the points on his fingers. Caitlyn nodded, pretending to avidly be taking notes. "Yeah that's about it."

"So are you taking anyone for like, an escort?" Caitlyn asked, taking a swig of her water. Nate shrugged, tipping her water so it fell all down her front. "NATHAN RUSSEL RYAN!!!" Caitlyn shrieked. Nate laughed heartily at his friend. That is until she took her water and dumped it on his head.

"You're gonna get it now!" Nate tackled her to the ground, shaking his hair in her face. "Ha! Take that!" Caitlyn used all her strength to flip them over.

"I'm totally stronger." She grinned happily. Nate rolled his eyes and reached up, tickling her stomach. "Nate!" She squealed, falling beside him.

"Stronger. Right." He smirked. Caitlyn looked down at her soaking wet shirt.

"I'm gonna go change. Good game." She laughed and left.

The day of the award show arrived too quickly for Caitlyn. Mitchie and Tess woke her up at eleven A.M. Sunday morning(Early for Caitlyn), threw her in the shower, and waited. Caitlyn stepped out in her robe, yawning and blinking in the bright light. "My mom's sending over her stylist." Tess gushed.

"Er. Cool. I think?" Caitlyn couldn't have cared less.

The limo was set to take them to the show at seven thirty. So the girls gathered their things and walked down stairs. Shane, Nate, and Jason waited at the foot of the stairs, all wearing handsome tuxedos. First, Mitchie descended the staircase in a beautiful strapless red dress, a rose fixed in her hair. Shane kissed her sweetly and they moved out of the way for Tess to come downstairs in her forest green dress with a gold trim. Jason grinned and swept her literally off her feet, twirling her around.

"Tess you look gorgeous!!" He exclaimed brightly. Tess Tyler actually blushed and thanked him shyly.

"Alright, now for Nate and Caitlyn to just hurry this along." Shane always got a little antsy before award shows. Nate laughed nervously and fixed his tuxedo. And then Caitlyn began to walk towards them, her cheeks blushing pink. She wore a silver sequined dress that was off the shoulder, and had an open back with two thin straps across it. The bottom pooled at her feet and her curls were pulled into a loose bun at the nape of her neck, several curls hanging at the side of her face.

Nate opened his mouth to speak, but his voice caught in his throat. This was the girl he had been best friends with for two years? The tom-boy who hated dressing up? "Hey." He finally voiced. Caitlyn smiled shyly. "No escort. Care to step in like last time I couldn't find a girl?" Caitlyn laughed and nodded.

"Sure Nate." She took his arm with a smile and they walked out to the stretch black limo. The entire ride, all Nate could do was stare at Caitlyn, who hadn't seemed to notice yet. She looked gorgeous, but not really like his Catie. His best friend Catie. Right now, as they stepped out onto the red carpet together, she felt like. A girlfriend. Something he had never seen Caitlyn as before.

"Are you two dating??" A photographer yelled at them. Caitlyn shied away from the flashes, sticking to Nate's side.

"Nate Ryan! Caityln Geller." Some host on the carpet stopped them, purring their names. The two teens looked at her. "You two look simply fabulous!!!" She grinned. They thanked her and she began bombarding them with questions. "So, are you two officially, an item?" She asked them perkily.

"Er..." Nate wanted so desperately to say yes all of a sudden. Just seeing Caitlyn like this, made him want to change their relationship, from friends, to dating. Caitlyn knew him better than he knew himself. And he was the only person that knew she was secretly terrified of the dark.

"Well...?" The woman prompted them.

"Oh no. We've got to go." Nate had to yank Caitlyn away before he embarassed himself on international television.

"Wow. Those reporters do love to pry." Caitlyn cleared her throat nervously. Nate nodded and they rejoined their friends. The six sat down at the table reserved for them. As Caitlyn reached across the table for a mint from Tess, Nate stretched, leaving his arm on the back of her chair by accident.

The show began and an hour later, and Caitlyn felt herself nodding off. Nate noticed and hurriedly moved his hand behind her head, Caitlyn jerked awake and looked around, "Smile!" Nate hissed. Caitlyn lit up like a light bulb as she spotted a camera.

"Thanks." She leaned over to whisper in his ear with a broad smile. Nate nodded and kissed the soft skin of her cheek, stopping himself numbly. Was that okay? He had kissed her cheek before, like when she had gotten an internship at Dammed Records. Why was he overthinking everything he did all of a sudden?!

Their award nomination was called and the six sat at attention. "Heart To Heart by Connect 6!" The presenter announced. The name had come about over the time the single had grown more and more popular.

"Oh my gosh Jason! We won!" Tess exclaimed, kissing Jason strongly on the mouth. Mitchie and Shane clasped hands and began leading the group up to the stage. Caitlyn threw her arms around Nate excitedly as they made their way.

"This is so exciting." She murmured, still smiling.

They stood in front of the mic, holding the gold award brightly. "Thanks to Nate for writing this amazing song for us all to sing." Shane finished. Nate turned red around the ears and coughed uncomfortably. "Come on Nate. Say something!"

Nate stepped to the center and blinked. "Uh. With such great friends and amazing voices, this song practically wrote itself." He babbled. "And of course with my girlfriend Caitlyn helping me through it, it was impossible to do badly." The other five on stage turned to gape at him. Nate touched his lips, oh god. He had finally done it. Instead of saying best friend, he spilled out what had been on his mind all day.

"Uh Thanks." He nodded and hurried off. He stared straight ahead, refusing to look at any of them.

The rest of the night dragged on for what felt like hours, and finally Lanna Rhodes approached them at the end of the night. "Are you all coming to my after party?" She purred. Shane grinned.

"Wouldn't miss it!" He exclaimed, Mitchie eyed him uneasily but nodded along with him. "See you soon." Lanna air kissed his cheeks and fled. "That'll be fun huh?" Shane squeezed Mitchie's hand as they walked out.

Nate had yet to say anything even by the time they had arrived at the party. Caitlyn continued to talk to Tess while they got out of the car and paparrazzi had even shown up there. The three girls walked ahead of the guys, grinning and looking excited. "This is so cool." Caitlyn gushed. "Look at that woman's dress!" Mitchie and Tess turned slowly to stare at her. "Oh my god."

Their eyes met and they began to sing. "Caitlyn just noticed a fashionable piece of clothing!" The three boys began to laugh as well and Caitlyn blushed even harder than she had earlier that night.

Mitchie and Tess excitedly dragged Shane and Jason out to the dance floor, not turning to look back at Nate and Caitlyn once. "Can we talk?" The curly haired girl asked her equally curly headed best friend. He swallowed and nodded, following her out to the balcony. "So...Tonight you said...." Caitlyn didn't seem to want to come out and say it. "Did you mean it? I mean do you want me to be your girlfriend?"

"I didn't even think of you like that before tonight!" Nate blurted out and mentally cursed himself, deciding to buy himself a muzzle later.

"But tonight...?"

"Tonight I wanted to do this." Before she could shove him over the edge of the balcony, Nate pressed his lips against hers in a heart stopping kiss. His hands rose up to tangle themselves in her curls and Caitlyn stepped towards him.

"Wow." She murmured once the kiss had broken. Nate nodded, also in awe.

"So do you wanna give this a try? This dating thing?" Caitlyn asked him uncomfortably.

Nate nodded dumbly, swallowing again. "So if we're dating. That means I can kiss you." He pointed out like a triumphant five year old. Caitlyn laughed sweetly and nodded. "Good."


End file.
